This invention relates to a circuit breaker and, more particularly, to a handle blocking device for securing the switch handle of a circuit breaker in the ON or OFF position.
Normally, access to the switch handle of a circuit breaker is limited or controlled by housing the circuit breakers in a panelboard/enclosure. By locking the access door of an enclosure, access to the enclosed circuit breakers can be limited to only those person authorized to control the circuit breakers. The circuit breaker of U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,133, which issued on Dec. 11, 1984, is an example of a circuit breaker which may be housed in an enclosure such that its access is limited.
The problem with controlling access to all of the circuit breakers within a single enclosure is that it may be possible or practical that access to all of the circuit breakers be limited. For example, for safety reasons it may be dangerous to limit access to some of the circuit breakers within an enclosure, while it may be important to limit access to the remainder of the circuit breakers within the enclosure. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a device which restricts the operability of the switch handle of an individual circuit breaker to persons authorized to operate the circuit breaker between its ON and OFF positions.